A base carrier serving as a base of a system carrier has basic components such as a carrier bar, a stay for supporting the carrier bar, and a hook for fixing the stay to a vehicle.
The basic components such as the carrier bar, the stay, and the hook may be designed dedicatedly to a certain vehicle model. However, in order to provide versatility within a limited range, an assembly adjustment mechanism is designed to allow for a maximum size of the installable vehicle model. For example, a carrier bar discussed in Patent Literature 1 is provided with a positioning opening for assembling the stay on the stay-assembled surface (lower surface) of the carrier bar in order to enable adjustment to the stay assembly position. As a result, the stay assembly position can be adjusted through sliding within a positioning opening formation range.
However, in the carrier bar discussed in Patent Literature 1, the positioning opening is formed inwardly from the longitudinal end of the carrier bar. For this reason, the stay is assembled and fixed by inserting it from the end side of the carrier bar. If such an assembly structure is employed, an allowable range of the insertion angle of the stay is widened. For this reason, when the stay is inserted into the positioning opening, sloping or twisting may be generated. Sometimes, insertion may be insufficient, or the carrier bar may be erroneously assembled to a non-standard stay.
In view of those problems, as discussed in Patent Literature 2, a carrier bar and its assembly structure have been developed to suitably perform the stay assembly work. In the carrier bar discussed in Patent Literature 2, the positioning opening provided for assembling the stay is not formed in the end portion of the carrier bar. Specifically, the positioning opening is provided inwardly from the longitudinal end of the carrier bar. In addition, an opening for inserting the clamp mechanism of the stay is provided more inwardly from the positioning opening. This opening communicates with the positioning opening, so that the assembly work is completed by inserting the clamp mechanism of the stay from the opening, sliding it toward the positioning opening, and fixing the stay by using the clamp mechanism.
The positioning opening of the carrier bar discussed in Patent Literature 2 has a length equal to the longitudinal length of the opening, that is, the length of the clamp mechanism of the stay. In addition, the positioning opening is not limitedly formed in the end portion of the carrier bar, and the end member serves as a stopper. For this reason, a position where the stay stops after the clamp mechanism of the stay is inserted from the opening and slides along the notch toward the end side of the carrier bar corresponds to the assembly position.
In this structure of the carrier bar, the opening is formed to match the clamp mechanism of the stay as seen in a plan view. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the stay from being assembled in a sloped state or a non-standard stay from being erroneously installed. In addition, a position where the stay slides and finally stops by using the end member of the carrier bar as a stopper can be used as the assembly position. Therefore, it is possible to prevent insufficient insertion.